Catalan separatists determined to hold independence vote

Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont said Saturday he and his supporters would not "give up" their rights, speaking on the eve of an independence vote that Madrid has banned and is trying hard to block. By Saturday, the interior ministry said it had sealed most of the 2,315 polling stations in the wealthy northeastern Spanish region in an effort to prevent Sunday's referendum. However, teachers, parents, students and activists have leapt into action, defying warnings of repercussions by occupying at least 160 schools designated as polling stations. In an interview with AFP, Puigdemont insisted that his government had "everything in place so that everything takes place normally", vowing that supporters of the referendum would not "go home" or give up on their rights. But he also called on mediation over the crisis that pits his separatist executive against Madrid in what has be...